Building unit



N. A. BRAND BUILDING UNIT I Oct. 30,1934.

Filed Oct. 17, 1931 Patented Oct. 30, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEBUILDING UNIT Application October 17, 1931, Serial No. 569,446

3 .Claims.

My invention relates to a building unit adapted to be secured in placeto form a floor, inside wall or ceiling of a building. It is an objectof my invention to provide an improved building unit that I isrelatively cheap, strong and easy to handle. A further object of myinvention is to provide a building construction which is simple andeconomical to install. A further object of my invention is to provide abuilding construction having 19 aninner surface that will require nofurther finishing or decoration after it is installed in place. It is afurther object of my invention to provide a building unit which isassembled at the factory so as to eliminate the necessity of anyintricate or costly assembly operations at the building site.

Other objects of my invention will become apparent to those skilled inthe art to which my invention relates from reading the followingspecification taken'in connection with the accompanying drawing inwhich:

Figure 1 is a cross section of a portion of a building constructionillustrating one embodiment of my invention.

Figure 2 is a cross section of an inner corner construction embodying myinvention.

In Figure 1 the reference numeral 10 indicates a building board.Preferably I use an extra thick hard pressed board but I may use 9. plywood board formed of about five plies of wood veneer.

0 A sheet 11 of over-matured linoleum is secured to the board 10 over amajor portion of its area by means of a layer of cement 12. The cementedend 13 of the linoleum 11 is spaced slightly from the end 14 of thebuilding board 10. The free end 15 of the linoleum sheet 11 overlaps theadjacent end 16 of the building board to the same extent that the end 13is spaced from the end 14 of the building board. The opposite ends 14and 16 of the building board are bevelled in opposite directions to thesame degree. Accordingly when a plurality of my building units areinstalled, the ends 14 and 16 abut to form a tight joint and the ends 13and 15 of the adjacent linoleum sheets 11 form a butt joint spacedslightly from the joint between the building boards.

The layer of cement 12 is spaced far enough away from the end 16 of thebuilding board 10 so that the free end 15 of the linoleum sheet 11 maybe raised sufiiciently to allow nails or other fastening means 17 to bedriven through the boards 10 and the wooden building members 18 tosecure the building units in place. The member 18 may be a stud,stringer, joist or rafter, depending upon what part of the structure thebuilding units are to form. The nails 17 are driven into the board 10 sothat the nail heads 19 do not project above the surface of the board 10.After the nails 17 are driven in place the free end 15 of the linoleumsheet 11 is secured in place. The end 15 conceals the nail heads andforms a smooth finish for the structure. I prefer to secure the free end15 of the linoleum sheet 11 by means of a suitable cement but anysuitable fastening means may be employed. The joint between the boards10 is protected by the free end 15 of the linoleum so that it will notbe exposed to deteriorating influences at any time.

Figure 2 shows an inner corner construction having a building board 20with its ends extending at an angle to each other and a sheet oflinoleum 21 secured to the inner surface of the board 20. Although Ihave illustrated an inside corner it is obvious that I may form otherangular or rounded constructions in the same manner. This building unitmay be secured in place by the securing means described in connectionwith Figure 1. This corner construction in addition to its exceptionalstrength has the advantage of a seamless structure so that it isimpossible for the corners to open.

In the structure of Figure 2 the linoleum may be partially cured andthen bent to the desired shape. After the linoleum is bent to thedesired shape it may be subjected to an additional stoving period tocomplete the hardness of the linoleum. The linoleum sheet 21 may becemented in place on the board 20 before the final stoving period whichcompletes the hardening of the linoleum. In corner constructions and inall other constructions involving special shapes, this process insuresan accurate fit between the linoleum and the building board.

It will be apparent that the sheet of linoleum will differ in somerespects according to the place the unit will occupy in the building.For instance, the linoleum to be used for a wall or ceiling structureneed not be as heavy as that to be used for a floor structure. Thechoice of patterns for walls and ceilings would also differ gen-' erallyfrom those for fioor structures. However, in all cases the linoleum hascharacteristics not generally found in linoleum, namely hardness andrigidity. These characteristics are imparted to the linoleum by reasonof the extra long stoving period to which it is subjected. This extrastoving increases the hardness and strength' of the linoleum. Thisadditional strength causes the linoleum to serve as a real reinforcementfor the building board in the matter of structural strength. Theadditional strength is of particular advantage during the handling andshipping of the building units.

Over-matured linoleum is advantageous because the hard, rigid sheet canbe made alkali resistant by the addition of suitable chemicals. It isimpossible to do this with ordinary linoleum because it would make thelinoleum too rigid to be rolled. In the present case rolling is notnecessary because the units are packed in stacks. Ordinary linoleum isgenerally treated on its surface with lacquer, varnish or similarmaterial to increase its alkali resistance. This adds considerably tothe expense of the finished linoleum and when the surface treatmentwears away it must be renewed if the linoleum is to retain its originalalkali resistance. With my over-matured linoleum the sheet of linoleumis resistant to alkali throughout its thickness and no surface treatmentis necessary.

My building unit is of particular advantage when used in theconstruction of floors. Heretofore it has been necessary in floorconstruction to form a sub-floor of wood and a second floor of suitablebuilding board. After the two fioors are laid it is necessary to apply acovering of linoleum or similar material. My unit may be applieddirectly to the stringers and requires no sub-floor and no additionalcovering. It replaces three expensive installations with oneinstallation which is simpler and cheaper than any one of the threeinstallations heretofore necessary.

While I have described a few preferred embodiments of my invention, itis obvious that many of the details may be modified without departingfrom the spirit and scope of my invention. Accordingly, I do not desireto be restricted to the exact details of construction except as recitedin the appended claims.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a building unit adapted to form aseamless corner construction comprising a hard pressed fibrous boardmolded in angular shape to fit the corner to which it is to be applied,and a rigid sheet of linoleum conforming to the contour of said boardand attached thereto.

2. As an article of manufacture, a building unit for angularconstructions comprising a shaped hard pressed fibrous board and aseamless sheet of rigid linoleum secured to the board and substantiallycovering the exposed area of the board.

3. A decorative building unit adapted to be secured directly to spacedsupporting means and serve as a fioor or wall member, comprising arigid, board-like foundation member and a sheet of linoleum securedthereto and serving as a decorative facing therefor.

' NORMAN A. BRAND.

